'Angels sent from heaven': Rebuilding Together volunteers help fix up Ringwood homes
A left turn off Peters Mine Road onto Sheehan Drive in Upper Ringwood in northern Passaic County reveals four homes in dire need of repair that are getting it.
On Friday morning, volunteers from the organization Rebuilding Together North Jersey and from Wells Fargo were in the blazing sun focused on two homes, putting in a handicap-accessible ramp in the back of one home and tearing out the wooden deck in the back of another.
The houses are among 12 in the area that have been worked on for more than a year by Rebuilding Together. It is an area where generations of Native Americans have lived near long-abandoned mines and polluted sites that have been the subject of litigation for years. The three polluted sites, classified as EPA Superfund sites, became that way in the 1960s after paint sludge from the Ford auto plant in Mahwah was dumped in those locations.
Gretchen Viggiano, executive director of Rebuilding Together North Jersey, said one of the homes, where the extended Van Dunk family lives, was getting a new ramp because some of the residents are disabled, with one needing a wheelchair. The deck at the other home, where the Corter family resides, was being replaced due to deterioration.
Sisters Barbara and Myra Van Dunk, members of the Turtle Clan of the Ramapough Lenape tribe — who have been fighting for years to get the polluted land nearby cleaned up — were sitting in patio chairs in the shade outside their family home with the sounds of roosters crowing and an electric saw whirring in the background.
Barbara Van Dunk said the ramp installation was welcome, along with previous work done by volunteers to fix their leaky roof. Myra Van Dunk described the volunteers as "angels sent from heaven."
"They are getting things done that we can't afford," Myra Van Dunk said. "It's very appreciated. Trust me."
Jacob Corter, who is not a member of the Ramapough Lenape tribe, has lived next door to the Van Dunk family his entire life. He said he was happy to see the volunteers.
"I'm very happy because I'm low-income and I can't work myself to rebuild it," said Corter, who is disabled and unemployed.
Volunteers like Sun Kwon-Wishik, who works in Wells Fargo's corporate office in New York City and resides in Saddle River, enjoyed working on the homes.
"Sometimes you go to these types of things, and you stand around and not do anything," Kwon-Wishik said. "Here, we rolled up our sleeves and did things."
Viggiano said Rebuilding Together New Jersey, based in Oakland, will continue work on these homes — and two others in this cul-de-sac over the next year — funded by a $64,000 grant from Wells Fargo.
"We've been up here for a couple of years, and we're going to be up here for another year or more, because we are committed to this neighborhood and helping the people who live here," Viggiano said.
Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ricardokaul
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Volunteers help repair Ringwood homes: 'Angels sent from heaven'
